


Artificial

by BrandyVorta (GhostySoldier)



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Boyd hasnt technically appeared in the show yet but dangit someone's gotta make his character tag, Found Family, Gen, Helping a robot understand his emotions, Robot Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 07:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19942294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostySoldier/pseuds/BrandyVorta
Summary: He knew he was a robot. That was never a secret.He understood his role as a robot– he was made to be admired, marveled at, and praised, because look how lifelike he was! Look how advanced his AI was! He could easily be mistaken for a real bird. But he wasn’t. He knew this. He was not a real bird and was not made to be treated like a real bird.( Boyd Beaks drabble fic)





	Artificial

He knew he was a robot. That was never a secret.

He understood his role as a robot– he was made to be admired, marveled at, and praised, because look how lifelike he was! Look how advanced his AI was! He could easily be mistaken for a real bird. But he wasn’t. He knew this. He was not a real bird and was not made to be treated like a real bird.

His creator was just that. His creator. There was no emotional attachment, nor was there supposed to be. Mark Beaks was not his father, because they were not family. He was his creation, the magnum opus of Waddle technology. That was all.

So why did it make him cringe when he failed a task and got reprimanded? Why did it upset him when his creator wasn’t paying attention to him? Why did others look at him like _that_ when they saw how Beaks treated him? Wasn’t this how it was supposed to be? Wasn’t he just meant to be a fancy toy to be shown off in public? He didn’t understand.

When the chicken and the brown-feathered duck took him from Beaks, he didn’t understand. They talked about his creator like he was some kind of bad person for how he treated him. Why did it matter? He was just a robot. He wasn’t supposed to be treated like a real bird.

They wouldn’t ask him to do the things Beaks always did. There were no demonstrations, no test flights, no laser shows. The most robotic thing they asked of him was for him to allow the chicken– Gyro Gearloose –to perform diagnostics on him. “To make sure he was okay”, they’d said.

He didn’t understand.

Why wouldn’t they treat him like a robot? Why did they insist on treating him like a real bird, like a real child? He wasn’t real. He was a robot! He knew this! He didn’t understand, what did they want from him, what did they want?! He couldn’t understand. He lost control.

When they finally pulled him from the wrecked lab, he was shaking. Gyro checked his systems, and Fenton held his hand, once again talking to him like he was a real bird. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t truly cry, but his vocal processors stuttered and hitched when he spoke, finally asking them why they kept treating him this way.

He never forgot the answer– spoken by Gyro in a gentle tone, that he usually only reserved for his own creations.

“You may not be a real bird, but you have an AI so advanced you may as well be one. You’re a robot, but you have thoughts and feelings just like us. You just need help understanding them. Robot or not, you deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.”

At the time, he still didn’t understand.

Months have passed since then. He’s found his place in the lab family, with Gyro and Fenton, and Lil Bulb and Manny. He’s made a friend in the form of Huey Duck. They still treat him like a real bird, but now, it doesn’t bother him. Fenton looks at him with adoration, and it’s nothing like the prideful smile Beaks always gave him. Beaks only had pride in himself, but Fenton is proud of who Boyd has become.

He’s a robot. Not a real bird. But the family he’s found is very, very real.

He thinks he finally understands.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had the idea to write a Boyd Beaks drabble. We still know nothing about the kiddo, but I headcanon that his AI was formed using Mark’s own neural network. This leaves the poor robot with all the trauma responses and neuroses that Mark has, but with no way of understanding where they came from or what they mean.
> 
> Fortunately, Gyro and Fenton help him out.


End file.
